Recurrent Flooding and Household Food Access in Central Java, Indonesia.

It is unknown how recurring flooding impacts household diet in Central Java. We aimed to assess how recurrent flooding influenced household food access over 22 years in Central Java by linking the Global Surface Water dataset (GSW) to the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We examined linear and nonlinear relationships and joint effects with indicators of adaptive capacity. We measured recurrent flooding as the fraction of district raster cells with episodic flooding from 1984-2015 using GSW. Food access outcomes were household food expenditure share (FES) and dietary diversity score (DDS). We fit generalized linear mixed models and random forest regression models. We detected joint effects with flooding and adaptive capacity. Wealth and access to credit were associated with improved FES and DDS. The effect of wealth on FES was stronger in households in more flood-affected districts, while access to credit was associated with reduced odds of DDS in more flood-affected districts. Flooding had more predictive importance for FES than for DDS. Access to credit, a factor that ordinarily improves food access, may not be effective in flood-prone areas. Wealthier households may be better able to adapt in terms of food access. Future research should incorporate land use data to understand how different locales are affected and further understand the complexity of these relationships.

Exploring the Association Between Floods and Diarrhea among Under-five Children in Rural India.

OBJECTIVE: Flood is one of the major public health concerns increasing the risk of childhood diarrhea. This study aims to explore the association of floods with diarrhea among under-five children in rural India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out using large-scale nationally representative data from the National Family Health Survey-5. The Central Water Commission reports between the years 2018 and 2020 were used to group all the districts as non-flood-affected districts or flood-affected districts. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the association of floods with childhood diarrhea. RESULTS: The prevalence of diarrhea was higher among children exposed to three consecutive floods during the year 2019-21 than those children not exposed to flood. Children exposed to flood three times between the year 2018-19 to 2020-21 were associated with a 34% higher likelihood of developing diarrhea than those children exposed to flood one or two times. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that community health workers should target mothers belonging to the poor wealth quintile, young mothers, and mothers with young infants and more children to receive child health related counseling in flood-prone areas.

Impact of natural disasters on HIV risk behaviors, seroprevalence, and virological supression in a hyperendemic fishing village in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the impact of natural disasters on the HIV epidemic in populations with high HIV burden is critical for the effective delivery of HIV control efforts. We assessed HIV risk behaviors, seroprevalence, and viral suppression in a high HIV prevalence Lake Victoria fishing community before and after COVID-19 emergence and lockdown and a severe lake flooding event, both of which occurred in 2020. METHODS: We used data from the largest Lake Victoria fishing community in the Rakai Community Cohort Study, an open population-based HIV surveillance cohort in south-central Uganda. The data were collected both prior to (September-December 2018) and after (October-December 2021) COVID-19 emergence and a severe flooding event. Households impacted by flooding were identified via drone data and through consulting village community health workers. The entire study population was subject to extensive COVID-19-related lockdowns in the first half of 2020. Differences in HIV-related outcomes before and after COVID, and between residents of flooded and non-flooded households, were assessed using a difference-in-differences statistical modeling approach. FINDINGS: A total of 1,226 people participated in the pre- and post-COVID surveys, of whom 506 (41%) were affected by flooding. HIV seroprevalence in the initial period was 37% in flooded and 36.8% in non-flooded households. After the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, we observed a decline in HIV-associated risk behaviors: transactional sex declined from 29.4% to 24.8% (p = 0.011), and inconsistent condom use with non-marital partners declined from 41.6% to 37% (p = 0.021). ART coverage increased from 91.6% to 97.2% (p<0.001). There was 17% decline in transactional sex (aPR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75-0.92) and 28% decline in the overall HIV risk score (aPR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75-0.92) among HIV-seronegative participants. We observed no statistically significant differences in changes of HIV risk behavior, seroprevalence, or viral suppression outcomes when comparing those affected by floods to those not affected by floods, in the periods before and after COVID-19, based on difference-in-differences analyses. INTERPRETATION: Despite a high background burden of HIV, the COVID-19 pandemic, and severe flooding, we observed no adverse impact on HIV risk behaviors, seroprevalence, or virologic outcomes. This may be attributed to innovative HIV programming during the period and/or population resilience. Understanding exactly what HIV programs and personal or community-level strategies worked to maintain good public health outcomes despite extreme environmental and pandemic conditions may help improve HIV epidemic control during future natural disaster events.

Mobility, Bioavailability, and Enrichment of Soil-Bound Phosphorus in Flood-Prone Paddy Fields: A Case Study of Kunnukara, South India.

Bioavailability, enrichment, and risk of phosphorus (P) and its fraction composition were monitored in the paddy soils of Kunnukara during the pre-cultivation and post-harvest periods in the years 2020 and 2021. Iron-bound P (≥ 105.56 ± 0.05 mg/kg) was found highest among the P fractions. The bioavailability of P was recorded at peak value during the post-harvest period, contributed by organic P, Iron bound P, and loosely bound P. Principal component analysis inferred that loosely bound P was pH-dependent and significantly influenced by cation exchange, particle density, soil aggregate stability, and total organic carbon (TOC) in the post-harvest soil, whereas TOC, aluminium-bound P, and calcium-bound P in the pre-cultivation soils. Additionally, physico-chemical parameters like electrical conductivity, bulk density, specific gravity, TOC, and soil aggregate stability have a significant impact on the composition of P fractions in the soil. Bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) ranged from 642.78 ± 0.49 to 594.20 ± 1.23 mg/kg during the post-harvest period. Moreover, the contribution of BAP to total P ranged from 99.45 to 99.54%, indicating the fact that soil is sufficient in BAP. Pollution indices revealed that the paddy soils are at risk of eutrophication. Phosphorus Pollution Index (PPI) > 1 exhibited moderate pollution (1.06 to 1.07) at the topsoil (0-15 cm) and PPI < 1, mild pollution (0.92 to 0.99) at 15-30 cm depths. The organic nitrogen index ≥ 0.133 indicates severe soil pollution in the study site. An extended fertilizer application in the field contributes to nutrient enrichment and warrants the risk of contamination in nearby riverine systems (River Periyar and River Chalakkudy).

Quantification of geomorphodiversity and its spatial distribution with the flood inundation areas for Assam, India.

Assam, located in the Northeast of India, is highly flood-prone, and the erosional and depositional processes highly influence the landforms. The formation and development of landforms are directly related to the geology, geomorphology, drainage basin characteristics, and soil types of the region. In the present study, a remote sensing and GIS-based geomorphodiversity index (GMI) assessment of Assam is performed using three sub-indices: geodiversity, morphometric diversity, and drainage diversity index. Sixty-six potential geomorphosites are identified with their geological, geomorphological, and GMI classes. With the help of a flood inundation map, the inundated area of each GMI class is calculated. According to the result, 27.02%, 10.76%, and 3.7% of the total area of Assam fall under moderate, high, and very high GMI classes, respectively. Barak Valley and Central Assam region exhibit high to very high GMI values. Geology and geomorphology have a strong influence on GMI values. About 22.32%, 28.33%, 37.18%, 38.25%, and 35.37% of areas with low, moderate, high, and very high GMI are inundated, respectively. This study determined that areas having high GMI can increase the geomorphological heritage value of the region and can play a significant role in promoting geotourism with an increase in the scientific, educational, and aesthetic value of geomorphosites. This study can also help the local governing authorities to conduct and implement better management and conservation policies for vulnerable locations.

Evaluation of flood metrics across the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin and their relation to flood damages.

Societal risks from flooding are evident at a range of spatial scales and climate change will exacerbate these risks in the future. Assessing flood risks across broad geographical regions is a challenge, and often done using streamflow time-series records or hydrologic models. In this study, we used a national-scale hydrological model to identify, assess, and map 16 different streamflow metrics that could be used to describe flood risks across 34,987 HUC12 subwatersheds within the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). A clear spatial difference was observed among two different classes of metrics. Watersheds in the eastern half of the MARB exhibited higher overall flows as characterized by the mean, median, and maximum daily values, whereas western MARB watersheds were associated with flood indicative of high extreme flows such as skewness, standardized streamflow index and top days. Total agricultural and building losses within HUC12 watersheds were related to flood metrics and those focused on higher overall flows were more correlated to expected annual losses (EAL) than extreme value metrics. Results from this study are useful for identifying continental scale patterns of flood risks within the MARB and should be considered a launching point from which to improve the connections between watershed scale risks and the potential use of natural infrastructure practices to reduce these risks.

Tropical forest cover, oil palm plantations, and precipitation drive flooding events in Aceh, Indonesia, and hit the poorest people hardest.

Tropical forest loss and degradation in watersheds disrupt essential ecosystem services that regulate water flow, often causing devastating floods that impact agricultural productivity and impoverish downstream communities. Despite its importance, evaluations of the interconnectedness between the depletion of hydrological services and flooding lack an evidence-base in the Global South and, therefore, have little influence on policy dialogue. In this study, we focus on the forest-rich province of Aceh, Indonesia, using local and national newspaper articles to compile information on flood events between 2011 and 2018. We explored spatio-temporal flood patterns with a combination of climatic, topographic, and environmental factors. We compiled 2,029 reported flood events in mainland Aceh located in 20 of the 21 districts/cities, with a disproportionately high occurrence (71%) in four districts. The trend of flood events exhibited an increasing pattern between 2011 and 2018. Over this period, floods displaced ~158,000 people and damaged ~24,500 houses and ~11,500 ha of agricultural land. Our generalized linear mixed-effect model found that reported flood events were more likely to occur in areas with lower tree cover, more oil palm plantations, and higher precipitation. Areas with a lower human population density and higher poverty rates were found to be most susceptible to flooding events. Our findings highlight the critical link between forest preservation and flood prevention, and the irreplaceable role that forests play in ensuring the well-being of local communities, especially those affected by poverty. Our study underscores the importance of considering these interconnected factors in future land use and economic development plans and policies.

[Food consumption of the urban population in a municipality in the Legal Amazon, during climate events of flood and drought: a comparative study]. / Consumo alimentar da população urbana em um município da Amazônia Legal, nos eventos climáticos de inundação e seca: estudo comparativo.

The aim of this study was to compare the food consumption of the population of Coari, Amazonas State, Brazil, according to the NOVA Classification, during the hydrological phases of drought and flooding of the Amazon rivers. An epidemiological, population-based, cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 457 adult individuals. Data were collected in two stages using a sociodemographic instrument, a 24-hour food recall and a food frequency questionnaire adapted to local habits. The data were analyzed using the statistical program R version 4.2.4, using Pearson's chi-square, Fischer's exact and Bhapkar's tests. The sample was predominantly female (drought = 70%/flood = 71.2%) and brown (drought = 65.4%/flood = 66.2%). Most of the interviewees ate meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Afternoon snacks were the most common intermediate meal, especially during flooding (274/70.2%). In natura or minimally processed foods predominated at the three main meals (95%). Ultra-processed foods were consumed little or not at all and were mentioned especially during the drought (152/33.3%; p = 0.007). On the other hand, consumption of regional foods (tucumã, beiju, tapioca flour and açaí) increased during the flood (p < 0.001). Consumption of in natura or minimally processed foods continues to be the mainstay of the diet in the interior of Amazonas, with a predominance of regional foods during the flood and processed and ultra-processed foods during the drought, demonstrating the influence, albeit subtle, of the hydrological phases on the food consumption of this population.

O objetivo foi comparar o consumo alimentar da população de Coari, Amazonas, Brasil, segundo a Classificação NOVA, durante as fases hidrológicas de seca e inundação dos rios amazônicos. Realizou-se um estudo epidemiológico, de base populacional e transversal. A amostra foi composta por 457 indivíduos adultos e a coleta de dados foi realizada em dois momentos, mediante um instrumento sociodemográfico, um recordatório alimentar de 24 horas, e um questionário de frequência alimentar adaptado para os hábitos locais. Os dados foram analisados pelo programa estatístico R versão 4.2.4, por meio dos testes qui-quadrado de Pearson, exato de Fischer e de Bhapkar. A amostra foi composta predominantemente pelo sexo feminino (seca = 70%/inundação = 71,2%) e pardos (seca = 65,4%/inundação = 66,2%). As refeições (café da manhã, almoço e jantar) foram realizadas pela maior parte dos entrevistados. O lanche da tarde foi a refeição intermediária mais realizada, principalmente na inundação (274/70,2%). Predominou-se o consumo de alimentos in natura ou minimamente processados nas três principais refeições (95%). Os ultraprocessados são pouco ou não são consumidos e foram citados especialmente na seca (152/33,3%; p = 0,007). Em contrapartida, o consumo de alimentos regionais (tucumã, beiju, farinha de tapioca e açaí) aumentou durante a inundação (p < 0,001). O consumo de alimentos in natura ou minimamente processados continua sendo a base da alimentação no interior do Amazonas, predominando alimentos regionais na inundação e alimentos processados e ultraprocessados na seca, demonstrando a influência, ainda que sutil, das fases hidrológicas no consumo alimentar dessa população.

El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar el consumo de alimentos de la población de Coari, Amazonas, Brasil, según la Clasificación NOVA, durante las fases hidrológicas de sequía e inundación de los ríos amazónicos. Se trató de un estudio epidemiológico, poblacional y transversal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 457 individuos adultos. Los datos se recogieron en dos etapas mediante un instrumento sociodemográfico, un recordatorio de alimentos las 24 horas, y un cuestionario de frecuencia alimentar adaptado a las costumbres locales. Para el análisis de datos se utilizó el programa estadístico R versión 4.2.4, mediante las pruebas chi-cuadrado de Pearson, exacto de Fisher y de Bhapkar. Hubo un mayor predominio del sexo femenino (sequía = 70%/inundación = 71,2%) y de pardos (sequía = 65,4%/inundación = 66,2%). La mayoría de los entrevistados tuvieron sus comidas (desayuno, almuerzo y cena) en el período analizado. La merienda fue la comida intermedia más frecuente, especialmente en la inundación (274/70,2%). El consumo de alimentos in natura o mínimamente procesados predominó en las tres comidas principales (95%). Los productos ultraprocesados fueron poco o nada consumidos y se los mencionaron especialmente en la sequía (152/33,3%; p = 0,007). Por otro lado, el consumo de alimentos regionales (tucumã, beiju, harina de tapioca y açaí) tuvo un aumento durante la inundación (p < 0,001). El consumo de alimentos in natura o mínimamente procesados sigue siendo la base alimentar en el interior de la Amazonía, con predominio en el consumo de alimentos regionales en la inundación y de alimentos procesados y ultraprocesados en la sequía, lo que evidencia la influencia, aunque discreta, de las fases hidrológicas en el consumo de alimentos de esta población.

Application of GRACE-based satellite estimates in the assessment of flood potential: A case study of Gangetic-Brahmaputra basin, India.

The high frequency of flood occurrences and the uneven distribution of hydrological stations make it difficult to monitor large-scale floods. Emergence of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite system sets up a new era of large-scale flood monitoring without much reliance on in situ hydrological observations. The GRACE-derived flood potential index (FPI) exhibits its ability to monitor major events of 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008 over the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra Basin (IGBB). Precipitation and soil moisture are the major influencing factors of flood. However, the response of potential flooding to such parameters is little known. Pearson's lag correlation analysis is used to examine the response of the GRACE-based FPI to precipitation and soil moisture over the study region comparing seasonal time series of the variables. Results exhibited a 2-month lagged response of FPI to precipitation in the Upper Gangetic Yamuna Chambal Basin (UGYCB) and the Lower Gangetic Basin (LGB) and 1-month lagged response in the Lower Brahmaputra Basin (LBB). With context to soil moisture, a 1-month lag is observed in the Gangetic basins, and no lag is observed in the LBB. Event wise analysis of the lags portrays slightly varying lags for different events; however, it provides a picture on the interaction between these variables. This study also assesses the agreement between FPI and satellite-based river discharge, i.e. Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) discharge. A good correlation (> 0.60) between the two is observed. Threshold values of FPI are determined for the LBB due to its annual flood frequency. The nearly similar accuracy of threshold FPI, determined using DFO discharge, in monitoring floods and the predictive skill measure of FPI for LBB to the previous studies demonstrates the utility of satellite-based discharge in the quantification of threshold FPI values for different percentile floods.

Harnessing long-term gridded rainfall data and microtopographic insights to characterise risk from surface water flooding.

Climate projections like UKCP18 predict that the UK will move towards a wetter and warmer climate with a consequent increased risk from surface water flooding (SWF). SWF is typically caused by localized convective rainfall, which is difficult to predict and requires high spatial and temporal resolution observations. The likelihood of SWF is also affected by the microtopographic configuration near buildings and the presence of resilience and resistance measures. To date, most research on SWF has focused on modelling and prediction, but these models have been limited to 2 m resolution for England to avoid excessive computational burdens. The lead time for predicting convective rainfall responsible for SWF can be as little as 30 minutes for a 1 km x 1 km part of the storm. Therefore, it is useful to identify the locations most vulnerable to SWF based on past rainfall data and microtopography to provide better risk management measures for properties. In this study, we present a framework that uses long-term gridded rainfall data to quantify SWF hazard at the 1 km x 1 km pixel level, thereby identifying localized areas vulnerable to SWF. We also use high-resolution photographic (10 cm) and LiDAR (25 cm) DEMs, as well as a property flood resistance and resilience (PFR) database, to quantify SWF exposure at property level. By adopting this methodology, locations and properties vulnerable to SWF can be identified, and appropriate SWF management strategies can be developed, such as installing PFR features for the properties at highest risk from SWF.

[Impact and Mechanism of Medium and Small Flood Regulation in the Three Gorges Reservoir on the Phytoplankton in Tributary Bays].

The regulation of small- and medium-sized floods （RSMF） has become the main mode of regulation in the flood season of the Three Gorges Reservoir （TGR）. To study the response of phytoplankton in the tributary bays of the TGR to the RSMF, a typical eutrophic tributary of the TGR, Xiangxi River, was investigated for the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of phytoplankton and nutrients in the main and tributary streams from 2020 to 2021. The response characteristics of phytoplankton in the tributary bays to the RSMF were analyzed. The results indicated that during the RSMF, the chlorophyll a （Chl-a） in the water body of the Xiangxi River decreased with the increase in the water level in front of the dam, whereas during the reservoir impounding at the end of flood season, the concentration of Chl-a increased again. During the RSMF, the Chlorophyta and Diatoma were the main communities of planktonic algae in the Xiangxi River. The phytoplankton community changed with the RSMF. When the water level fluctuation increased, diatoms were the main species, whereas when the water level fluctuation was small, blue and green algae were the main species. The concentration of Chl-a was more sensitive to changes in TN concentration. When the flow velocity was >0.25 m·s-1 or the suspended sediment content was >10 mg·L-1, the concentration of Chl-a in the water was inhibited. After 2010, the typical outbreak time of algal blooms in the Xiangxi River Reservoir Bay shifted to the flood season, with only two non-flood season algal blooms. Further attention needs to be paid to the response of algal blooms in the reservoir to small- and medium-sized flood control during the flood season.

Flooding and dam operations facilitate rapid upstream migrations of native and invasive fish species on a regulated large river.

Dams commonly restrict fish movements in large rivers but can also help curtail the spread of invasive species, such as invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp). To determine how dams in the upper Mississippi River (UMR) affect large-scale invasive and native fish migrations, we tracked American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) and bigheaded carp across > 600 river km (rkm) and 16 navigation locks and dams (LD) of the UMR during 2 years with contrasting water levels. In 2022, a low-water year, both native paddlefish and invasive bigheaded carp had low passage rates (4% and 0.6% respectively) through LD15, a movement bottleneck being studied for invasive carp control. In contrast, flooding in 2023 led to open-river conditions across multiple dams simultaneously, allowing 53% of paddlefish and 46% of bigheaded carp detected in Pool 16 to move upstream through LD15. Bigheaded carp passed upstream through LD15 rapidly (µ = 32 rkm per day) a maximum of 381 rkm, whereas paddlefish moved an average of 9 upstream rkm per day (maximum of 337 rkm). Our results can inform managers examining trade-offs between actions that enhance native fish passage or deter movements of invasive species. This understanding is critical because current climate change models project increases in flooding events like that observed during 2023.

Global population datasets overestimate flood exposure in Sweden.

Accurate population data is crucial for assessing exposure in disaster risk assessments. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development of spatially gridded population datasets. Despite these datasets often using similar input data to derive population figures, notable differences arise when comparing them with direct ground-level observations. This study evaluates the precision and accuracy of flood exposure assessments using both known and generated gridded population datasets in Sweden. Specifically focusing on WorldPop and GHSPop, we compare these datasets against official national statistics at a 100 m grid cell resolution to assess their reliability in flood exposure analyses. Our objectives include quantifying the reliability of these datasets and examining the impact of data aggregation on estimated flood exposure across different administrative levels. The analysis reveals significant discrepancies in flood exposure estimates, underscoring the challenges associated with relying on generated gridded population data for precise flood risk assessments. Our findings emphasize the importance of careful dataset selection and highlight the potential for overestimation in flood risk analysis. This emphasises the critical need for validations against ground population data to ensure accurate flood risk management strategies.

Auditing learner driver information about floodwaters: An environmental scan of government issued resources in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Vehicles driving, or being swept, into floodwaters is a leading cause of flood-related death. Establishing safe behaviors among learner drivers may reduce risk throughout their driving lifetime. METHODS: An environmental scan of publicly available government issued learner and driver handbooks across the eight Australian jurisdictions was conducted to identify information provided regarding floodwaters. Search terms included 'flood,' 'rain,' 'water,' and 'wet.' A visual audit of flood-related signage was also conducted. RESULTS: Twelve documents, across eight jurisdictions, were analyzed. Four jurisdictions' documents provided no information on flooding. Of the four jurisdictions that provided information, content varied. This included highlighting risks and discouraging entering floodwaters in a vehicle, including penalties associated with travel on closed roads, to advising depth and current checks if crossing a flooded roadway, with recommendations based on vehicle size (preference given to bigger vehicles, i.e., 4wds). Information on flood-related signage was found in one jurisdiction. DISCUSSION: Learner and driver handbooks represent a missed opportunity to provide flood safety information. Currently, information is not provided in all jurisdictions, despite flood-related vehicle drowning deaths of drivers and passengers being a national issue. Where information is presented, it is limited, often lacks practical guidance on how to assess water depth, current, and road base stability, and could better use evidence regarding the psychological factors underpinning, and behavioral prompts for performing, or avoiding, risky driving behavior during floods. CONCLUSIONS: The provision and content of information in learner driver and driver handbooks must be improved, particularly within the context of increasing flooding and extreme weather associated with the effects of climate change. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: We encourage all jurisdictions to provide practical information that draws on evidence-based risk factors and empirically established psychological factors for behavioral change to help establish safe driver behaviors around floods in the formative years of learning to drive.

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in micronutrient homeostasis and cadmium uptake and transfer in rice under different flooding intensities.

Flooding intensity significantly alters the availability of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd) in paddy soil. However, the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the uptake and transfer of Cd and micronutrients (Fe and Zn) under Cd stress in varying flooding conditions is not well understood. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the micronutrient homeostasis and Cd uptake and transfer in rice cultivated in Cd-contaminated soil with AMF inoculation under continuous and intermittent flooding conditions. Compared to non-inoculation controls, mycorrhizal inoculation decreased Cd concentration in rice plants under continuous and intermittent flooding, and improved grain yield by 39.2 % for early season rice and 21.1 % for late season rice under continuous flooding. Mycorrhizal inoculation balanced the availability of Zn and Fe and decreased the availability of Cd in soil, lowering the ratios of soil-available Cd to both soil-available Zn and soil Fe2+. These changes led to a redistribution of Zn and Fe concentrations in rice, thereby reducing Cd acquisition in a soil-rice system. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis revealed that mycorrhizal inoculation had a strong direct negative effect on the expression of Zn and Fe-related genes OsNRAMP1, OsIRT1, and OsIRT2 in the roots of rice, which in turn directly affected root Cd concentration. Furthermore, mycorrhizal colonization decreased Cd transfer coefficients from leaves to grains under continuous flooding and from nodes and leaves to grains under intermittent flooding. In the nodes, the Fe concentration and the expression of genes OsIRT1 and OsHMA2 were associated with Cd transfer from the nodes to grains. Similarly, in the leaves, the expression of genes OsZIP1 and OsMTP1 corresponded with Cd transfer from leaves to grains. This study provides insights into the role of AMF in affecting micronutrient concentrations and Cd uptake in rice under varying flooding conditions.

Possibility of the optimum monitoring and evaluation (M&E) production frontier for risk-informed health governance in disaster-prone districts of West Bengal, India.

An efficient M&E system in public healthcare is crucial for achieving universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries, especially when the need for service remains unmet due to the exposure of the population to disaster risks and uncertainties. Current research has conducted exploratory and predictive analyses to estimate the determinants of sustainable M&E solutions for ensuring uninterrupted access during and after disasters. The aim was to estimate the efficiency of reaching a higher M&E production frontier via the Cobb‒Douglas model and stochastic frontier model as the basic theoretical and empirical frameworks. The research followed a deductive approach and used a stratified purposive sampling method to collect data from different layers of health and disaster governance in a flood-prone rural setting in the Malda, South 24 Parganas and Purulia districts in West Bengal, India. The present mixed-method study revealed multiple challenges in healthcare seeking during disasters and how a well-structured M&E system can increase system readiness to combat these challenges. The stochastic frontier model estimated the highest M&E frontier producing the most attainable M&E effectiveness through horizontal convergence between departments, enhanced coordination, the availability of frontline health workers at health centers, the adoption of learned innovation and the outsourcing of the evaluation component to external evaluators to improve M&E process quality. Although the study has several limitations, it shows the potential to increase technical and allocative efficiency through building skills in innovative techniques and applying them in process implementation. In the future, research on strategy improvement followed by real-world evidence-based policy advocacy is needed to increase the impact of M&E on access to healthcare services.

High-resolution temperature, salinity and depth data from southeastern Australian estuaries, 2018-2021.

Estuaries are the important interface between the land and sea, providing significant environmental, economic, cultural and social values. However, they face unprecedented pressures including eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, habitat loss, and extreme weather due to climate change. Here we present an open access, quality-controlled water quality dataset collected from twelve diverse estuaries spanning 1000 km along the southeastern Australian coastline. Water depth, temperature and salinity data were collected across two years (2018-2021) capturing drought, wildfire and flood periods, using high accuracy Seabird MicroCAT field sensors located within oyster leases. These fully autonomous instruments collected and transmitted data every 10 minutes before downstream quality checking and uploading onto a public website. Simultaneous, high-resolution, longitudinal environmental data collected across multiple estuaries throughout a range of extreme weather events are exceptionally rare in the Southern Hemisphere, yet provide an invaluable resource for the aquaculture industry, researchers and environmental regulators alike.

Simultaneously reducing methane emissions and arsenic mobility by birnessite in flooded paddy soil: Overlooked key role of organic polymerisation.

Flooding of paddy fields enhances methane (CH4) emissions and arsenic (As) mobilisation, which are crucial issues for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and food safety. Birnessite (δ-MnO2) is a common natural oxidant and scavenger for heavy metals. In this study, birnessite was applied to As-contaminated paddy soil. The capacity for simultaneously alleviating CH4 emissions and As mobility was explored. Soil microcosm incubation results indicated that birnessite addition simultaneously reduced CH4 emissions by 47 %-54 % and As release by 38 %-85 %. The addition of birnessite decreased the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents and altered its chemical properties. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) results showed that birnessite reduced the labile fractions of proteins, carbohydrates, lignins, tannins, and unsaturated hydrocarbons, however, increased the abundance of condensed aromatic structures, suggesting the polymerisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by birnessite. The degradation of labile fractions and the polymerisation of DOM resulted in an inventory of recalcitrant DOM, which is difficult for microbes to metabolise, thus inhibiting methanogenesis. In contrast, birnessite addition increased CH4 oxidation, as the particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) gene abundance increased by 30 %. The enhanced polymerisation of DOM by birnessite also increased As complexation with organics, leading to the transfer of As to the organic bound phase. In addition, the decrease in ferrous ion [Fe(II)] concentrations with birnessite indicated that the reductive dissolution of Fe oxides was suppressed, which limited the release of arsenite [As(III)] under reducing conditions. Furthermore, birnessite decreased As methylation and shaped the soil microbial community structure by enriching the metal-reducing bacterium Bacillus. Overall, our results provide a promising method to suppress greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of As contamination in paddy soils, although further studies are needed to verify its efficacy and effectiveness under field conditions.

Impact of floods and landslides on rhizosphere bacterial communities: a high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing study.

This study investigates the diversity and composition of soil bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of Attapadi and Nelliyampathy, prominent hill stations in Palakkad district, Kerala, India. The persistent flooding and landslides in 2018 and 2019 significantly impacted agricultural productivity in these regions. Utilizing high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina MiSeq), we conducted a comprehensive analysis of soil samples. Correlative assessments between soil parameters and microbial relative abundance at the phylum level revealed noteworthy positive associations. Notably, nitrogen (N) exhibited a positive relation with Crenarchaeota, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteriota, and Acidobacteriota; pH correlated with Firmicutes; organic carbon (OC) with WPS-2; and phosphorous with Proteobacteria. A total of 31,402 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified, with the highest feature counts observed in undisturbed soils from Attapadi (AUD) and Nelliyampathy (NUD) (13,007 and 12,915, respectively). Disturbed soils in Nelliyampathy (ND) and Attapadi (AD) displayed a substantial decline in microbial diversity and composition, harbouring 1409 and 4071 OTUs, respectively. Alpha and beta diversity indices further underscored the more severe impairment of ND soils compared to AD soils. Interestingly, a majority of ND samples were landslide-affected (four out of five), while flood-affected soils accounted for four out of six AD samples. This indicates that landslides exert a more pronounced impact on microbial diversity and composition than floods. The observed decline in microbial count, composition, and diversity, even after 2 years of the disaster, raises concerns about potential threats to agricultural output. The findings emphasize the need for corrective measures, including the incorporation of microbial inoculum, to restore soil fertility in post-disaster landscapes.